''They must think I'm stupid,'' Dr Margaret Favell said.
In the letter, lawyer Daniel Grima, of the Spanish city Alicante, said he was searching for relatives of his late client, Berens Favell, a Spanish tycoon who died with his family in a ''cyclone disaster'' when holidaying in Burma.
The dead businessman left $6.4 million and the lawyer suggested Ms Favell stand as heir.
''Once the vault is released to you, we shall divide the content in the ratio of 50% for you, 50% for me,'' the letter said.
The lawyer provided contact details for Dr Favell to phone, fax or email him to say if she would ''collaborate'', or not, so he could search for another heir.
The letter was on a letterhead and the envelope had a Spanish postage stamp.
Dr Favell suspected she was targeted because her name was in the phone book, and sounded Spanish.
She had never been targeted by a mail scam before and feared someone could fall for ''the con''.
The ODT called Mr Grima in Spain, posing as part of the Favell family.
Mr Grima said he needed ''assurance'' he was not being scammed and wanted confirmation via email of the reference number on the letter.
When pressed, he seemed open to his cut being reduced to a 20% share.
''I am not greedy. I don't belong to the family tree. I am just an attorney. Whatever you are willing to give at the end of the day, I'm OK, but before I can divulge any details, I want you to send me an email.''
He denied he was part of a scam.
''Absolutely not.''
When asked if the money could be collected in in person, rather than by sending an email, he became agitated.
''If you are not willing to abide by my instructions, please do not call again. OK. Thank you. Bye.'' he said before hanging up.
After emailing Mr Grima the reference number, he responded with four emails, detailing the bequest was ''100% legal'' and payment would take up to three weeks but he needed to know my intentions were sincere.
''Are you really convinced of consummating this project with me?'' he said in the email.
In the final email, Mr Grima advised against telling a ''third party'' and warned against being slow to act.
''You are not the only Favell in the world,'' Mr Grima said.
A Department of Internal Affairs spokesman said anyone getting an ''inheritance letter'' should not respond, or they risked becoming a victim to a long-running scam.
''Many inheritance letters state that the recipient has the same or similar surname to a deceased person and therefore is entitled to some money. Dr Favell risks losing money and personal identity information if she engages with the sender.''
Adios, Mr Grima.
How to report a scam
• Email: info@antispam.govt.nz
• Email or Online scam: Forward the email / email a description of the online scam to scam@reportspam.co.nz
• Phone scam: Email a description of the phone scam to phonescam@antispam.govt.nz
• Postal or fax scam: Scan, then email the scam to postalscam@antispam.govt.nz or fax to (04) 495-9314
• TXT scam: Forward free to 7726
Source: Department of Internal Affairs
